Harry Strom, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death
TweetHarry Strom
Premier of Alberta, Canada, from 1968 to 1971
Date of Birth: 
Place of Birth: Burdett, Alberta, Alberta, Canada
About Harry Strom
- Harry Edwin Strom (July 7, 1914 – October 2, 1984) was the ninth Premier of Alberta, Canada, from 1968 to 1971.
- His two-and-a-half years as Premier were the last of the thirty-six-year Social Credit dynasty, as his defeat by Peter Lougheed saw its replacement by a new era Progressive Conservative government.
- He is remembered as an honest, decent man who lacked the political skills of his predecessor, Ernest Manning, or of Lougheed. Alberta's first native-born Premier, Strom was born in Burdett, Alberta.
- He worked most of his young adult life on the family farm, and was also actively involved in his church.
- After a stint in municipal politics, he ran for the Legislative Assembly of Alberta in the 1955 provincial election, and was elected.
- In 1962, Manning appointed him to his cabinet as Minister of Agriculture, a position he held until 1967 when he was appointed Minister of Municipal Affairs.
- When Manning decided to resign in 1968, Strom became a candidate to succeed him, and finished on top of a six candidate field. As Premier, Strom undertook a number of initiatives, especially in education and youth-related fields, but was politically ineffective.
- He lacked both charisma and an overriding sense of purpose, and his government gradually lost popularity.
- In the 1971 election, his government was handily defeated by Lougheed's Progressive Conservatives.
- Strom served as opposition leader for two years, but soon relinquished the position and did not seek re-election in 1975.
- After leaving politics, Strom returned to farming.
- He died in 1984.
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